


It Can Be That Simple

by GrimoireEmil



Category: Hourou Musuko | Wandering Son
Genre: Canon Trans Character, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gender Dysphoria, Misgendering, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trans Female Character, idk where this is going
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24076606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimoireEmil/pseuds/GrimoireEmil
Summary: After Seya discovers that his crush was not who he thought she was, he finds the feelings simply will not go away. Some serious soul searching becomes necessary, much to Maho's chagrin. Meanwhile, Nitori is caught in the crossfire between a sister who blames her for Seya's hesitation and a boy who finds he still likes her.An alternate timeline type deal where Maho and Seya do not end up dating and the resulting fallout for Shuuchi and Maho.
Relationships: Nitori Shuuichi/Riku Seya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. The Truth?

**Author's Note:**

> The first 4 chapters follow the path of the manga closely before deviating and going off on it's own. Not sure what's going to really happen in this thing, I'm just writing it for fun! I've always kinda wondered what would've happened if Seya got over his internalized transphobia and just ended up dating Shuu. This is not to say I don't like Nitori x Anna a lot. I just wanted to explore this. Plus I also love Seya a lot.
> 
> I want to add too that Maho x Maiko will be a ship in this at some point, it's just not written yet, so I hesitate to tag it quite yet!
> 
> I'm still getting used to writing fanfiction, so I hope it's a fun enough read!

“Hey… Seya…”

Shuu’s words came out haltingly, hesitantly in the blue light reflecting off the water behind the glass. Fish of all colors, a rainbow of scales and types, swam lazily in that water. The room was dim. Families wandered idly, children pointing at the fish they find most enthralling. It was just them. Well, Mako was right behind, surely listening in to everything, but in a way it was just them.

 _He’s… nice._ She thought. _But…_

The wig felt tight. She felt every eye might fall on her and see through the ruse. How had Seya not?

“What is it, Yoshino?”

_It’s not fair to him is it? Maho, it isn’t fair that you made me do this._

“Seya, I’m not… Seya, I’m sorry but…”

She looked around nervously. At a glance, she saw Mako stiffen. She wondered how stupid she was being, but she could not keep this up forever. He would have to find out eventually, wouldn’t he? And when he did find out, she could only imagine how much worse it’ll be if she allowed this to go on. He had to know the truth. Seya genuinely liked her, and while that made Shuu feel special, Seya fell in love with _her_ not who she was with the hair piece off and her regular clothes on.

“Seya, I’m not Yoshino.” The words spilled out fast, hastily. A blush rose instantly to her face.

“H-huh?” He tilted his head.

She gulped. She was going to have to spell this out wasn’t she? She was going to have to say it. Was it that hard to understand/ She took a deep breath. “I am Maho’s… younger… brother…” Her face burned from embarrassment. To say those words felt like a betrayal somehow to both Seya and herself, but it was the truth… wasn’t it?

The air grew thick. The only sound Seya made was a guttural, “Ah?”

Nitori kept her eyes firmly locked on her shoes. The floor was safer than his face. When Seya finally spoke again, she fought and met his look, however. It certain wasn’t easy, but she knew she needed to maintain some semblance of dignity here. She looked at his eyes, and immediately they crushed her.

They were filled with horror.

“Y-Younger brother?” He stammered, unable to fully register the statement. “Who is? … Who is Nitori’s…? Whose brother?”

“AW COME ON!”

Suddenly, Mako shoved between them. Nitori wasn’t sure if she was mad at her or Seya or both, but she was clearly mad. Nitori stumbled backwards a little, but kept her footing easier. She watched Mako start to yell in fear that she was only going to escalate the situation.

“She’s a boy!” Mako exclaimed. “ _A BOY!”_ If Nitori’s face had not already deepened to a deep red, it would have gone reader now.

“You’re lying!” Seya yelled back.

“I am not!” Mako seemed personally affronted by this accusation that would’ve been humorous if Seya hadn’t been there.

“ _You are lying!”_

“Wow, you’re stubborn, aren’t you?!”

“Who’re are you calling stubborn?!”

“E-Excuse me!” Nitori shouted, forcing her way back into things. If anyone should be talking, it’s her. They didn’t need to make Seya the victim.

Both sets of eyes fell of Nitori after she butted in.

“I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I’m so sorry,” she continued on, offering a bow.

“It’s all very complicated! Excuse us for living!” Mako interjected. Nitori glared at Majo

“W-why am I being shouted at by you here?” Seya’s voice was shaking now. Nitori could see the reality settling in.

“Because… I’m a boy, too.”

_You didn’t have to say that Mako…_

Regardless, it was done. Nitori’s eyes fell back to the floor. “Please… Fall in love with my sister instead. Not me.” That was the goal, wasn’t it?

A few curious eyes glanced towards them, but none paid mind to this world shattering revelation that Seya was going through. Perhaps it made no sense to the passersby? Perhaps they just couldn’t hear. At this moment, however, this conversation felt immense. The both of them were at the hands of Seya. She had given him what he should know, and now she waited for the consequences. She felt… afraid. She barely knew Seya. Would he yell and scream? Would he hit her?

 _He has the right to…_ Nitori thought. _For us tricking him like this. We tricked him._

Yet did they? She was a boy, and yet she wanted to be a girl. That had to mean something, especially as they stood there in front of Seya and he really, truly, say her as a girl. This was what she’d rather, this fantasy. It wasn’t a trick. It was something else, something unknown to her. Still, she felt they were supposed to feel like they tricked him, so she felt bad about that.

Nitori braced herself for the worst. Yet, His eyes still wide, confusion and hurt now filling the expression, overwriting fear. Seya didn’t hit her. He didn’t yell or scream vile words at her. Instead, he simply nodded, turned around, and left.

Nitori and Mako now stood there, alone in the dim blue light of the aquarium, watching him go. Nitori felt too stunned really move. It ended up being Mako who broke the tension.

“Well, that went better than I thought,” she huffed, putting hands on her hips.

Nitori looked at Mako incredulously. “You’re weird, Mako.”

“So are you!” Mako retorted. “Let’s go home. At the very least, we can file this down as an important memory.”

Shuu couldn’t help but grin. Leave it to Mako to find a silver lining, and the oddest one possible. “Yeah,” she nodded, and Nitori left the aquarium with Mako, feeling a little anxious, a little guilty, but ultimately relieved it was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies if the dialogue is a bit clunky at times. I tried to use the exact dialogue from the manga since at this point I wanted it to see like it's following the original path while allowing for internal debate to start letting it diverge. It will get better (hopefully).


	2. Where's the Plot?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His feelings left to stew till the next day, Seya tries to piece together what happened, why it happened, and what any of it could mean. A lack of knowledge forces Seya to wrestle with his identity and is frustrated at every attempt to find answers.

“WAKE U, SEYA!”

His brother’s scream jolted Seya awake from a daze he preferred never end. At least in that daze he could pretend nothing was real, that such a confusing joke hadn’t been inflicted on him. Secure in the warmth of his blankets, he rolled on his back, moaning for his brother to leave. In response, his sibling only laughed as he ran off, satisfied he had done his task well, clueless to the turmoil in his older brother’s head. Seya now was awake, and there was nothing he could do about that.

The ceiling fan spun idly on the ceiling as he lay there. Getting up was a chore. Facing the day was a chore. Living? Might also be a chore. How could he fall head over heels over Nitori’s younger brother? How? _How?_

_Damn you, Nitori..._ He could not sure which he cursed. After all it took two to play this game, but still, Seya felt that was unfair to blame both. One of them, but not both. In someway, one of them was innocent and one of them coordinated this disaster. _Probably Maho..._ Seya thought. She was the one who set this date up, and who didn’t tell him the truth of the matter. She lied about her brother’s name. She lied about who they were. Why? To what end? _Could’ve just told me the truth..._

At least her younger brother told him the truth instead of stinging him along any farther in some intricate plot. If they were innocent, though, then why had her brother looked like that when Seya went over to their place? What on Earth were they doing in that dress?! None of this made sense!

What especially made no sense was why he suddenly had feelings Maho’s younger brother! A boy, right?

“Damn it....” he groaned and rolled to his back. _I’m not gay,_ he sternly thought. _I’m not._ What a dumb thought, he suddenly realized. What an absolutely dumb thought. _He looked like a girl! How does that make me gay?!_ But damn if people heard, they’d ridicule him to no end for it.

"Damn it,” he groaned again. There had to exist some reason for this. Maybe Maho set this up as some kind of grand strategy. Maybe Maho’s younger brother was actually another girl that Maho had lie to _say_ she was her younger brother to break Seya’s heart and… _No, too complicated…_ Still what was the ultimate goal? To make him run into her arms or something? Nitori’s brother _did_ say “Please fall in love with my sister?” after all. How deep did this plan run? How many strings did they pull on him?

From his nightstand, he reached over and grabbed a photo. It was the one Maho had given him of Her. Again, he scrutinized it. In his chest, his heart still fluttered. A weight pressed down on him looking at her again, feelings unbidden and unwanted.

_A boy._

How could She be a Boy? Why did he have to know that? He brought the photo to his lips and kissed it. The thoughts of her still made him blush.

Frustration. That was what he felt. Absolute frustration that the one he fell in love with might not exist. He was kissing a dream. An unreal fantasy. A joke, even, maybe. A sick one if so.

“Ignorance was bliss!” he exclaimed.

He wanted a do over. He wanted the day back, but what day did he want back? If he wanted the day of the date back, then he’d still be helplessly in love. What day he wanted back was the one where he knocked on Nitori’s door and saw them standing there. _That_ was the day he wanted back. He was a normal kid. He got normal grades. People even called him average to the extreme. He prided himself on that, on not making waves. Normal was _not_ falling in love with boys that cross-dressed or whatever the heck was going on. That was not in his tool box.

And the worst part? Who could he tell? No one. No one will take him seriously if he did.

He sat up, bleary eyed. He hadn’t slept well. He kept seeing Her in his dreams, over and over.

Her. He kept thinking of Her as a Her when she explicitly told him She was a Boy. Yet saying Him felt wrong. Him would imply an awful lot.

As he got out of bed and shuffled downstairs, he started to wonder if maybe he should just speak to Her. Head over to their house and ask to talk, clear the air. He could not be sure of what would really come of that, it’s not like the reality would change, but maybe it would help figure some things out? Would Maho give chew him out for wanting to do that? Would that be weird to ask?

He shook his head. He had to stop. This kind of thinking did not help. He had to forget about Her and realize it was all fake. It had to be fake. It had to...

Yet some part of him seriously doubted some part of that. The image of her, flustered, in the doorway. How odd was that? Why were they dressed like that? _Why, why, why?_

* * *

He shuffled into school still lost in his own thoughts. The hallway bustled about as if nothing happened. _Miserable. Absolutely miserable._

And there she was. Brazenly going about her way, Nitori walked through the halls with papers piled high in her arms. She didn’t even notice him. Fuming, he stomped right up to her like a missile locked onto its target. Just the site of her lit a fuse in him, and he needed to explode.

“ _NITORI!”_ He yelled, towering over her and squaring up.

She jumped, cringing away from him in a flash. The papers scattered everywhere on the floor in a big mess. “AH!” she shouted. “The files!!”

_The files? THE FILES?! That’s the first thing she thinks of?_

“Forget the files!”

He could feel people staring. He didn’t care. She deserved this. He was sure that she absolutely deserved to be embarrassed here. She didn’t even look up from the papers as he stood over her fuming.

_The nerve. The nerve. The nerve! She has nothing to say?_

“Tsk.” He said, and turned on his heels. “Hope you enjoyed your little joke.”

There. At least he said something. At least he bit back. With that he headed to class, more frustrated than before. She couldn’t even say sorry. The absolute nerve of Nitori. He could hear everyone going to her side, asking if she was OK. Of course they thought _he_ was the bad guy. Of course they did!

_THWACK_

Pain in his back. Seya froze as the sound of a _Thud_ followed soon. _Did she just… she threw a book at me?_

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!” He spun back to her and shouted.

He heard it before he saw it. A loud wail, a cry. Tears ran down her face as if he had hurt her worse than she did him. He felt stunned, incredulous, and guilty. How was he supposed to react to this? Everyone in the hall were shouting words of scandal.

“Oh! RIKU MADE MAHO CRY!” “WHAT HAPPENED?” “WHAT DID RIKU DO?!”

Shaking himself out of his stunned stupor, he heard them all shouting, whispering, and muttering. _I’m not the bad guy here. I’m not!_ But they didn’t know that. No one knew what Maho had done, and now she was playing victim. He couldn’t help it. Seya felt warm tears in his eyes, and he knew that he had to just get away from this situation before he became in over his head.

With a huff, he stormed off, leaving the gathering crowd behind and shoved his way through the nearest door outside. He didn’t get much farther. He needed to breathe just for a moment, so he sat on the steps outside the door. He allowed himself to fixate on the sensations of the cold concrete and the strong breeze as he wiped away the few tears that did spring. Deep breaths. He knew he should take deep breathes, but every time he tried, he felt the anger bubble up from his gut, following the air and the breaths came out ragged.

The door creaked open behind him, and it didn’t shut. Obviously, Maho stood behind him, no need to turn and find out.

“It’s not fair,” he said, voice drained of passion. “It’s not fair, crying like that.”

The door shut with a click, and footsteps shuffled behind him. “Were you crying, too?” Maho said.

“No,” Seya lied. “I wasn’t.”

Silence fell between them as he heard her steps stopping next to him. She crouched there, looking at him. Seya said nothing, waiting for her. _Does she even realize what she did?_ he wondered.

Finally, she spoke. “I’m sorry.”

That was it. It felt like something broke then, like it became OK for him to be mad at her and lay out her crimes. The words came out of him faster than he could even think. The stopper had been pulled. “You and your brother!” he shouted. “There’s something wrong with you both!”

_CRACK!_

Suddenly he was seeing stars. His face burned as it snapped back roughly, making him fall back on the concrete steps.

He still couldn’t stop the flow. As his vision returned, he saw Maho standing over him, and the words came falling out again. “What’s the matter with him then? If this isn’t some _joke_?! Is he sick or something?!”

_BAM!_ He saw her foot coming, but was too slow to dodge. The kick sent him sprawling, pain blooming dangerously close to his eye.

“YOU’RE CRAZY!” He shouted in retaliation, as that was all he could do against her fury.

“That’s what you get for calling him ‘Sick’!” She shouted back.

“But it’s not normal!” Seya shouted. “It’s not normal for a boy to be that cute!” Again the words came out without thinking. The blows must’ve knocked them loose from his head where they’d been bouncing around all day. As soon as he said them, the air grew cold.

_It’s true isn’t it?_ He thought, not thinking to pull the words back. _That boy is different somehow. If it isn’t because they’re sick, then what_ is it?!

However, the longer he stayed quiet, the more menacing a look Maho gave him. Carefully, he began to stand up, but the slight movement cut the tension. Maho leaped on him with a different kind of ferocity and offense than before. Luckily, he managed to bring his arms up to deflect the various blows, not nearly as hard as they were before.

“What?!” Seya shouted, genuinely not understanding this. “What did I say?!”

Then, all at once, Maho again. “You really know how to annoy me,” she said with a huff, and just like that she stormed back into the building. Arms and face sore, Seya drew his knees up to his chin and buried his head in his arms, groaning.

“I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know…” he muttered to himself several times. Maho expected something of him, his brain expected something from him, and his heart demanded something _else_ of him. None of his life prepared him for this. He understood why she attacked the first and second time. The guilt that flooded through him now explained that to him. The words he’d said, he saw how cruel they were now. Right or wrong…

Did anything Maho’s… brother, he supposed, do in that aquarium count as wrong? _They tricked me,_ he thought bitterly, but did they? The two of them were having a good time, nothing seemed amiss. Nitori, who was then Takatsuki, had been quiet, reserved, and not doing anything out of place. Then they had also been honest and told Seya anyway, fearful of Seya knowing the truth but trusting it was for the best.

And if Nitori had never told him that truth, then what? He would have kept dating them. He knew he would have as long as Nitori wanted to. Eventually, he’d know the truth and then what? Again, would that have been wrong? If anything, Nitori would be the one fearful, not him. Seya could have hit Nitori and no one of his peers would’ve thought him the worse for it, but Seya found himself relieved he walked away. Maho’s younger sibling did nothing right or wrong. They just existed in that moment, and Seya had the choice to make it into something or nothing. He made it into something, and now, shouting at Maho, he made it into a worse kind of something.

_I’m scum…_ he thought to himself, burying his head deeper into his arms.

The anger Seya had felt towards Maho had been dying too. He did like her first, he did signal that to her before, and then he goes and likes her younger sibling too as if that was also OK.

_Scum, scum, scum._ Those words bouncing in his head, Seya stood, a bit dizy from the blows. He followed Maho back into the school. While his thoughts were still clouded, he found it easier to stand and walk with his usual posture with every step as he made it to the classroom.

The rest of the day, outside of his thoughts, was uneventful. He made the effort never to meet Maho in the eye, even though he felt hers burning into the back of his head, and escaped from the school as soon as he was able.

He didn’t know what to do, but it felt good to know that he had been a real piece of crap. What Maho had done wasn’t good, he knew that. You don’t pull on people’s heart strings regardless of who you’re using to do that. What he had said on those steps, however, was also terrible. He could, at the very least, make up for that.

So with that piece of certainty, Seya went home, and tried, for the rest of the day, to at least function like normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, Seya, being a bit of an ass in this chapter, huh? You really should read on the subject matter at hand so you don't look even worse. I know you have it in you, Seya!
> 
> (Sorry for the shitty quality, y'all. Idk why this fic is giving me issues, but I've decided to just roll with it and fix what I can!)


	3. Uneasy Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took way longer to get around to editting than it should have, but so it goes I guess. I hope it reads OK again, as I'm not used to writing chapters in shorter formats like this (usually things I write go twice the length). 
> 
> Also Seya misgenders Nitori a lot, and I'm trying to hurry through to when he actually learns some stuff and will stop.

It wasn’t easy finding a good time to apologize to Maho. First they had to be alone. No way was Seya going to say any of this in front of a crowd of people. The trouble was, however, that after school, Maho either hung out with her friends or went off to her new modelling job. To ask to speak in private in front of her friends would probably do more harm than good with added rumors. Secondly, she had to be in the right mood, or at least so he wanted.

With Maho, Seya had trouble judging that. She eternally had a short fuse, and the slightest thing seemed to bug her. Apologize at the wrong time and he might fall prey to her fist once again. This should’ve been motivation enough to bide his time and wait for just the right opening, but sometimes, he supposed, you take what you can get.

One evening, he just happened to be there to see Maho and her friends go back and forth. Something about extra-curricular and how, since Maho is modelling, her friends took up tennis. This put Maho in a foul mood, which means he should have aborted the apology mission and tried again later, but both he and Maho both seemed to be heading the same way out of school.

Seya had no intention of following her. Even if he did, he had plausible deniability for himself since she was walking in the general direction of where Seya’s home was located. Plausible deniability or not, however, he kept his distance as the two headed towards more and more shops and cafes, Maho stomping with a determined stride. At this point, he was now growing curious, the apology he had carefully rehearsed he filed to the back of his mind. Where could she be heading? He kept his mouth shut and tried to avoid being noticed, not just by Maho, but by every pedestrian that passed by.

Finally, she stopped, staring down a window displaying glasses and sunglasses. Did Maho wear glasses? Did she even _need_ glasses? Was all this build up for glasses? He’d followed her all this way, and even now he could not understand what was going through her head.

“You’re going to buy GLASSES?!” he shouted. He couldn’t help it. He had to ask. At this point, she acted too strangely to not.

Maho jumped, turning with a startled face. Realizing how harsh that came out, Seya slapped a hand over his mouth. “I mean…” he stammered. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that…”

Her face changed to one of exasperation. She turned, striding into the glasses store like she owned the place, and Seya had no choice but to tail her.

“I, uh,” he continued, as Maho began to try pair after pair on, deliberately ignoring his presence. “I, uh didn’t know you even had bad eyesight, though.”

“Twenty-thirteen in both eyes,” she said.

“So… you don’t actually need glasses?”

“Why are you following me?” She slipped a pair on and looked in the mirror. Suddenly she keeled back. “OH. OK. These make me dizzy.” She kept the glasses on despite this.

Still, feeling called out, Seya felt a blush come to his cheek. “I wasn’t following you. Well, not exactly.”

Again seeming to ignore him, she turned to him. Her eyes behind the glasses seemed glazed and unfocused and… was she sweating? “How do this look?” she asked as if they would ever be practical.

Maho just worked like this, Seya figured, and tried not to let himself get too annoyed. Matter-of-factly, Seya squinted at her and said “Look, you’ll ruin your eyes if keep wearing them…”

“But that’s what I want.”

Admittedly, that comment threw Seya for a loop. “If… if you want glasses so badly, you can just get them without the prescription…”

“Oh…” she said, looking at the glasses, examining them as if she got closer to a conclusion.

Then she just put the glasses down, turned, and strode right back out of the store.

Seya scrambled to keep up, nearly losing her as she turned a corner, but eventually he caught back up to her. She seemed to have no more interest in speaking to him, but he pressed on. “So you’re not going to buy them?” he asked, trying not to let his annoyance bleed through.

“I don’t have the money,” she said, her words quick and definitive. “See ya.”

Seya froze. “Y-yeah…” he managed to get out as he watched her storm away. Suddenly, he remembered why he came in the first place. “W-wait!”

She slowed, allowing Seya to speak.

Feeling flustered and rushed, he managed to say “H-how’s your brother?” Immediately he wanted to punch himself. He had this whole rehearsed apology and instead of saying sorry to Maho he asks about her sibling? _How is that going to help anything!_

Nitori stopped. “He’s dead,” she said flatly. “He died protecting my life nobly.” She began to storm away.

“Tha… Tha…” Sweat beaded on Seya’s face now, and his cheeks burned. He took a breath, pausing. _Just do it. Just say sorry. At least just do that._ “I apologize!” he shouted quickly after Nitori. “What I said that day was awful, and I apologize!”

She looked back at him. Silently, Maho offered him a visible nod before she turned and carried back on her way. Just like that, she turned a corner out of sight.

He took a shaky breath. _I’ve done all I can do,_ he told himself. _That was all I could do. If she still hates me, fine. Maybe that’s for the best. I’ll never see her or her brother again and eventually I’ll get over these feelings and that’s that._

Seya stretched. Above him, the clouds drifted lazily by. For a minute, he squinted at the sky, thinking of absolutely nothing. He felt a little better and adjusted the strap on his backpack. His feet took him on an entirely different route home than Nitori was going now. The route was longer, but the day was nice. Why not enjoy it?

* * *

Days had passed since that incident, but nothing really seemed to change. The chill between Maho and Seya seemed to fade, and things seemed to be returning to normal, just the way Seya liked it. There were somedays where he hadn’t even thought of Maho or her sibling at all! No more questions about himself that he’d rather not answer.

Then, one day at school, Maho came beside his desk.

“Seya… Let’s walk home together.”

He couldn’t really say no. Nothing seemed amiss, nor did he feel paranoid that something might be off. He had nothing better to do, so why not. “Y-yeah, OK.”

Leaving the classroom, and out of the school, the two made their way down the sidewalk, following a path lined with bushes and fencing. Well, Nitori followed the path, Seya followed her. The wind whipped around them both, blowing their hair obnoxiously into their eyes. Neither of the two said anything for a while. Seya felt afraid to speak, like he would once again say the wrong thing and mess everything up. There was no telling what was going through Maho’s head.

Eventually they came upon a staircase, and Seya just had to speak out. “My house is this way,” he mentions off hand. She didn’t respond. “Do you want me to walk you home?” _At least give me some clue of what you want from me…_

She stopped then, sighing and putting her head in her hands.

“Huh?” Seya said. For a moment, he felt terrified he said yet another thing wrong.

“I like you!” Her words came without warning, almost cutting him off.

Seya’s mouth just hung open. He supposed he should have expected this, but he genuinely hadn’t. What was he supposed to say? _I like you too?_ Because did he? He cursed silently to himself as the feelings he just started to repress came into mind. He imagined Nitori’s younger sibling, long hair, in the sailor uniform.

_Maho, don’t make me think about her again. Because if I do, I’ll freeze up and-_

“ACK!!” Maho shouted, not even giving him a choice. “I SAID IT! I SAID IT! SEE YA!”

Just like that, she was sprinting away, the wind buffeting her as she burst down the pavement.

“Ah! Wait…!” But by the time he spoke she had already run too far off. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Seya supposed the ball sat in his court now. However, every time he thought of Maho, he also thought of the girl in the photo, Maho’s brother.

Yes, he still had feelings for both of them. Confusing feelings that came and went at certain times. He couldn’t commit to saying he liked Maho’s younger sibling, but he had to still admit he had the picture she gave him in his nightstand drawer and he still thought about what if that moment went differently.

And he like Maho too. He liked her before he met the girl in the sailor uniform. Although the way Maho acted constantly left him more than flustered and overwhelmed. _Would she just calm down for one second_? He found himself wishing bitterly.

Turning, he headed up the staircase, heading home, thoughts once again plunged into the chaos of his own crushes. As he stalked down the windy streets, he settled once more on a decision. Nothing. He could do nothing right now. He couldn’t choose between a girl that couldn’t possibly be real and one who literally said she liked him to his face. _How pitiful is that?_ he thought bitterly, but it had to be the truth, at least for now. Maybe in time he’ll get his act together, but if Seya had to look at Maho’s younger brother right now he’d… well, he didn’t quite know. He didn’t really want to find out either, so that was the solution he came up with. He wouldn’t say a damn thing until Maho brought it up again. At least, that’s what he hoped.


End file.
